The Lesser-Known Truth Of Dylan Dreyer's Ex Brian Fichera

Best-known for her weather reporting and co-anchoring duties on NBC's "TODAY," Dylan Dreyer appeared to have the perfect marriage. Indeed, take a look at her Instagram account in the years after she walked down the aisle with cameraman Brian Fichera in 2012, and you'll find loved-up snap after loved-up snap. But there were also some telling signs that the seemingly happy couple were heading for a tragic divorce.

And that proved to be true in July 2025 when Dreyer took to her favorite social media platform to announce that she and Fichera had split. "There's something freeing, I think, for Brian and I where — whatever reasons, whatever broke in a marriage — you could either fix it if you can and ideally you would and you try, and you try to fix things," she later explained on "TODAY with Jenna & Friends" in November 2025. "Or you accept that it's broken and you take this new step forward." So what exactly do we know about the TV regular's ex? From behind-the-scenes roles and parental duties to impressive dance moves and sporting pursuits, here's a look at his less familiar story.

Dylan Dreyer has been a mainstay of NBC for nearly two decades. She's served as a reporter on everything from the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics to the Kentucky Derby, substituted for an ill Al Roker as host of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and presented her own eponymous nature show, "Earth Odyssey with Dylan Dreyer." Of course, she's most famous for delivering news of the nation's favorite subject on the likes of "TODAY," "NBC Nightly News," and The Weather Channel. And it was as a meteorologist that she met her ex-husband.

Yes, Dreyer isn't the only half of her former marriage who has a connection with broadcasting, or more specifically, the National Broadcasting Company. For Brian Fichera is also an NBC News regular, in his case behind the scenes as a cameraman and producer. The multi-talent was actually working as an in-studio technician when he was first introduced to his future wife at WHDH, an NBC affiliate station in Boston.

"When he started working more, he'd hang out more in the Weather Center with our friend Todd," Dreyer explained about their beginnings on a personal blog, according to Good Housekeeping (via Closer Weekly). "The three of us started hanging out more and more outside of work, building our friendship and getting close. After a few years, we had a small party at Brian's house which we dubbed the Jammy Jam. It was then that I realized I had totally fallen for him and from there it was history!"

Brian Fichera certainly chose a novel place to propose to his girlfriend, Dylan Dreyer, in 2011. Indeed, instead of popping the question over a candlelit dinner or in front of a romantic landmark, the producer/cameraman decided that the perfect place to get down on one knee would be on his folks' front porch.

"When I saw there were roses and two glasses of champagne, I knew,” Dreyer told The Boston Globe (via Boston.com) about the moment she realized that Fichera, working at NBC affiliate WHDH as an in-studio technician at the time, was about to ask for her hand in marriage. Luckily, the meteorologist said 'Yes' as her future husband's parents, family, and pals were all waiting in the backyard ready to start celebrating.

And the pair didn't waste much time in tying the knot. Just 15 months after Fichera's unorthodox proposal, he and Dreyer walked down the aisle at a ceremony at Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross. And if this period wasn't joyous enough, the bride had only just made the step up to co-anchor on "Weekend Today."

Brian Fichera may ply his trade operating NBC's cameras, but he isn't afraid to make fun of himself in front of them, either. Take the moment in 2016, for example, when he appeared on screen to help his then-wife, Dylan Dreyer, celebrate the life-changing news that they were about to become first-time parents.

Indeed, after some encouragement from "TODAY" co-anchors Savannah Guthrie, Koda Hotb, and Matt Lauer, the soon-to-be-father broke out his favorite dance move, the worm. "There it goes," he joked while standing back up again holding his back. And this wasn't the first time that Fichera had supported his other half on the show in an unusual way.

In fact, earlier that same year, Fichera also graced the other side of the "TODAY" studio to give Dreyer — who also once caused quite the stir with an inappropriate outfit — some roses as she debuted as a co-host of the show's Fourth Hour. And he also used the opportunity to express how he felt about his other half's celebrity crush. "Do you know how depressing it is when they're like, 'Can you take a selfie?'" he explained to Hotb. "We want to put you next to Zac Efron. It's soul-crushing. I couldn't muster up a smile. I was just hiding back tears."

You might have expected Dylan Dreyer and Brian Fichera to have micro-managed every aspect of their Boston wedding back in October 2012. But it turns out that the then-happy couple hadn't thought about how they wanted to soundtrack the final part of their reception. And it was here that the groom revealed to his nearest and dearest that he was a secret Coldplay fan.

"At the end of our wedding the DJ asked Brian what song to play last," Dreyer explained to People 11 years on from the happy occasion. "Brian just randomly said "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay," she added, referring to the 2008 hit that won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year and topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

"We have no connection to the song but it was absolutely perfect," Dreyer continued. "I tied up my long dress and he just spun me around the dance floor. It was pure joy and love and happiness." And the meteorologist holds the memory particularly dear for the fact that it wasn't being filmed: "We just totally absorbed the last moment of our perfect day!"

Although Brian Fichera was so excited about becoming a first-time dad that he did the worm on national television, fatherhood wasn't always the dream. Indeed, both the cameraman and his meteorologist then-wife, Dylan Dreyer, were initially reluctant to join the parents' club as the latter explained in a blog post.

"We weren't in a rush to have kids and, to be honest, there was a time when we declared we never wanted kids!" the NBC regular wrote for "TODAY." Of course, both parties went on to have a change of heart, and luckily at the exact same time, too. "Then one day we both looked at each other and said 'I want a baby!'" she continued. "As usual, we were on the same page and it all just seemed right."

Having previously sworn off children, Dreyer and Fichera ended up having three. Firstly, Calvin arrived in December 2016. Then, following a lengthy struggle — including a miscarriage — the couple welcomed son Oliver into the world just over three years later. And in September 2021, they completed their family unit with the birth of Russell.

Although, like his former wife, Dylan Dreyer, Brian Fichera previously had little interest in becoming a parent, he soon took to the prospect like a duck to water. Indeed, as Dreyer lovingly revealed on a 2016 episode of "TODAY" (via Us Weekly), Fichera was an absolute rock throughout her pregnancy, and particularly during the more challenging aspects.

"He's amazing," Dreyer gushed to the audience. "Every time I do get scared, he brings me back to reality. [He] kind of just sits back and reminds me, he's like, 'This baby is a piece of both of us ... Everything we love about each other, and all the times we enjoy together, we've created this wonderful life that is going to be a piece of both of us and it's going to become part of our lives.'"

In a blog post for the show, Dreyer also revealed that she and Fichera had differing attitudes when it came to the whole process: "As a first-time mom-to-be, I'll admit I don't know a thing. My husband has been excited since the day we got the positive pregnancy test." The star acknowledged that unwilling to jinx anything, she preferred to wait until she'd seen a medical professional. 

Brian Fichera certainly wasn't averse to public displays of affection during his 12-year marriage to Dylan Dreyer. As well as puckering up for the cameras at the NBC studios, the producer would often take to Instagram to let the world know exactly what he felt about his other half.

In May 2022, for instance, Fichera captioned a Mother's Day post (via Us Weekly), "You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders everyday ... and still have time to smile and be the best human being on planet earth." Two years later, he also hit the same social media platform to celebrate the mom of his three kids, writing, "The leader of the pack. We exist as a family because of your kindness, love, humor, patience. You are the foundation of our life. We love you!!!"

The online adulation went both ways, though. "I love celebrating you on your birthday and every day because there is literally no one better than you," she gushed in a post celebrating Fichera getting closer to the big 4-0. "I think our pure happiness says enough about the joy you bring to us all. I love you!!" Of course, some believe that such social media posts don't add up. 

Could Brian Fichera and Dylan Dreyer's third child be joining Crowe, Wilson, and T. Davies on the list of famous Russells in the future? The youngster, who was born in 2021, was given the slightly unfashionable name for sentimental reasons, as his mom explained during the 3rd Hour of NBC morning show "TODAY."

"We finally worked in a family connection," Dreyer said after revealing that Russell was the name of her husband's father and that her newborn's middle name, James, was chosen in honor of her own pop. "Both our dads started crying when we told them," she added.

Dreyer and Fichera — who first became parents in 2016 with the birth of Calvin, before adding to their family unit just over three years later with the arrival of Oliver — were taken aback by the sudden arrival: Russell was born six weeks prematurely. "He just was in such a rush," the proud mother said during her virtual guest appearance. "I thought he could at least wait until today because today officially is 34 weeks. I guess that's just a huge milestone in baby world ... There are no clothes clean, there's no crib in the house, nothing was planned. It's wild. I can't believe he's here."

Dylan Dreyer appeared to spend much of her married life presenting her former husband as quite the catch, something which will no doubt benefit the cameraman greatly now that he's a single man. Indeed, as well as telling the world that he's a model father and perfect birthing partner, the meteorologist also publicly praised Brian Fichera for his communication skills.

This was undoubtedly useful when it came to their marital rows, particularly in how they resolved them. "My family can hold a grudge," Dreyer told "TODAY" about the approach she was used to in a 2023 piece about the strength of their relationship. "If something is bothering us, we're like, 'I'll talk to you later,' and then we never address why we were upset in the first place."

However, Fichera much preferred to get everything out in the open as quickly as possible. "He won't even let me be mad for 10 minutes," Dreyer added. "He's like, 'Please just talk to me about you're upset so we can go back to having fun.'"

Brian Fichera may have been complimented by his wife on his communication skills. But he didn't always get the opportunity to display them during their 12-year marriage. Well, not in person, anyway. In fact, the couple's main method of talking to each other was entirely digital.

"Our schedules mean we don't see each other much, but we text all the time," Dylan Dreyer told "TODAY" about the reasons why their face-to-face time was so limited. "Sometimes it's even easier to have an important or deep conversation via text because we get all our thoughts out without being interrupted."

You might think that was an impersonal way of working through their problems or that it may have contributed to the now-divorced couple drifting apart. But Dreyer, who'd spent time away from the family home reporting on everything from Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, believes that it was hugely beneficial to their relationship: "We know each other well enough to understand each other's tone so a lot gets accomplished through texting!" And Fichera had a particularly amusing way of keeping their text conversations interesting, referring to his other half by a new nickname — including Dylip Seymour Hoffman, Dylilith Fair Music Festival, and New York Dylharmonic — in almost every other interaction.  

Take a look at Dylan Dreyer's Instagram uploads from her pre-divorce years with Brian Fichera and you'll notice there's one particular activity that the pair loved spending their downtime doing. Yes, as well as reporting on the likes of the Augusta National Women's Amateur and Open Championship, the meteorologist also regularly hit the green for a game of golf with her former husband — and she has him to thank for her interest.

Indeed, speaking to Golf Digest, Dreyer revealed that Fichera was responsible for introducing her to the sport. However, the secretly shady star doesn't think much of his prowess. "Oh, I would not be playing if Brian had been the only one teaching me," she joked, referring to the fact that she'd received some extra lessons from a coach whose methods were grounded in physics. "It's a slow process picking it up a little later in life, but now I'm hooked."

Dreyer might have sought guidance elsewhere, but she still appreciated Fichera's skills in aother facets of the game. "It's really fun for him to be my caddy," she explained to Hello! "He is truly my biggest fan. If I make a good shot, he's the first to jump up and down for me. He knows me so if I'm having a good round, he knows how to keep it doing. He also knows how to snap me out of a bad round. He's the perfect caddy because he's in my head and he gets my mind right."

Four months after the news that she and husband of 12 years Brian Fichera were going their separate ways, the oft-tragic Dylan Dreyer decided to tackle the subject head on. The meteorologist got particularly candid during her November 2025 appearance on "TODAY with Jenna & Friends," in a bid to quash any rumors and confirm the split was entirely amicable. In fact, the one-time couple are still very much pals.

"We are no longer husband and wife, and all those things that were broken, I don't hold them against you because we've accepted they're broken," Dreyer acknowledged before detailing how their relationship had pivoted. "That's why we're separated. So now let's move forward as friends. And I'm not mad at those other things that I was getting mad at before because, just like a friend you give them a little more grace when you're not married to it."

Luckily, all three sons are on board with this new arrangement. Referring to their oldest son, Dreyer said, "I asked Calvin. I said, 'What do you think a family is?' And he said, 'Well, it's a group of people that love each other.' And I said, 'That's what we are. And we will always be that for you. But Mommy and Daddy work better as friends than as husband and wife.'" The NBC regular added that the youngster, along with brothers Oliver and Russell, didn't care any about official labels.

Having split from his wife of 12 years in such an amicable manner, it's little surprise to learn that Brian Fichera is very much still involved in the day-to-day lives of their three kids, Calvin, Oliver, and Russell. Indeed, speaking to Jenna Bush Hager on "TODAY" about how things have changed since they announced their split, Dylan Dreyer revealed that not much has.

"The boys are surrounded by love," the meteorologist said in the same chat with Jenna Bush Hager. "Brian is at the house this morning, he's probably watching this morning. He dropped the kids off at school — he is there every morning to get them off to school." Dreyer also confirmed that the entire family still enjoy eating their evening meal together on a regular basis and that they'd already made plans to celebrate Thanksgiving as a family, too.

And this situation suits Dreyer down to the ground. "I feel okay every day. I come to work and smile and it's not fake," she added. "I feel genuinely happy. I'm with my kids and I'm laughing all the time. I am with Brian and I'm laughing." Of course, the internet suspects that Dreyer may already have a new boyfriend.